{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Phyllis Lee Crisp","chatgptsummary":"Phyllis Lee Crisp's biography shows ten years of managing deeds, liens, and plats as Blount County Register of Deeds, including zero audit findings and staff supervision. She has warned residents about deed fraud scams and initiated a property protection service. Bio does not indicate prior experience with Tennessee recording statutes or technology budget management.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nPhyllis Lee Crisp is the incumbent Blount County Register of Deeds, first elected in 2010 [1]. She defeated challenger Beth Myers-Rees in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary; no Democrat or independent qualified, so the primary winner takes the seat in the August 6, 2026 general election [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nCrisp is a 1976 graduate of Everett High School [1].\n\n## Career\nCrisp has served as Register of Deeds since 2010, overseeing a staff of nine and managing the office's deeds, liens, plats, powers of attorney, mortgages, and other recorded instruments [1]. She says her office has had zero audit findings during her tenure [1]. In 2026, she warned residents about a scam in which more than 100 property owners received letters offering to sell them copies of their own deeds for nearly $100, when the same documents are available from her office for about a dollar a page or free by email [3].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nCrisp's stated priority for the coming term is enrolling property owners in \"MYLANDALERT,\" a free fraud-alert service that emails owners when a transaction is recorded in their name, as part of a \"Property Protection Initiative\" that also includes plain-English guides and public workshops on deed fraud [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hats in the Ring: Register of Deeds](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/thedailytimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/dd/8dde37dd-0e0c-4488-8a49-77ed8b1697a1/69e6f81575f37.pdf.pdf), The Daily Times (candidate questionnaire)\n[2] [August 6, 2026 Official Ballot for Blount County](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF)\n[3] ['You do not have to pay' | Blount County leaders warn about 'scam' property deed letter](https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/maryville-blount/blount-county-leaders-warn-about-scam-property-deed-letter/51-06d3fe24-c690-4ffe-a055-b23879191fd6), WBIR","firstname":"Phyllis","lastname":"Crisp","middlename":"Lee","suffix":null,"token":"M73QaI2TZX"},"token":"phyllis_lee_crisp"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"register_of_deeds","o.office":null,"office":"register","officedescription":"The register of deeds maintains the county's permanent public record of real-property instruments \u2014 deeds, mortgages, liens, and plats \u2014 and collects the state transfer and mortgage taxes on them. The record the office keeps is the legal backbone of property ownership.","officequalities":"- Records management of deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, and other instruments affecting title to land.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee recording statutes, the recording-tax schedule, and the increasingly-electronic submission workflow used by title companies.\n- Accuracy and indexing discipline \u2014 an error in the register's records can cloud title for years.\n- Public-access service: the records are open, and the office serves both professional users and individual property owners.\n- Budget and technology literacy for maintaining a searchable, modern record system.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Register of Deeds","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-02","title":"Blount County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF"},"title":"Register Of Deeds"}